Did Toriyama Say DBO is Canon?

[Shineman]

For some time, I been seeing that fans have claim that Toriyama imself has stated that Dragon Ball Online is canon to the manga. However, if my memory is correct, I don't recall Toriyama actually stating this. So did Toriyama ever say that DBO is canon to the manga?

[Fox666]

Toriyama probably don't even know the word "canon".

[Herms]

As far as I know he's said no such thing, just that he has to approve all the story elements and character designs used in the game.

[Kaboom]

As far as I know he's said no such thing, just that he has to approve all the story elements and character designs used in the game.

Which is probably why a lot of fans interpret it as "more canon" than GT, despite Toriyama having some amount of contribution to that too.

[Fox666]

Toriyama simply wrote a brief premise for GT. However he seems to have plenty of involvement in Dragon Ball Online.

[Herms]

Toriyama simply wrote a brief premise for GT.

Not even that. He says in Shenlong Times #7 that he simply checked the story which Toei came up with and offered advice, and in the GT Dragon Box intro says that "for GT, all I did was just come up with the title, design the initial main cast and some of the machines, and also do a few images."

[CashmanX]

Herms, I think you should go ahead write that summery of things Toriyama didn't say...

[Fox666]

Toriyama simply wrote a brief premise for GT.

Not even that. He says in Shenlong Times #7 that he simply checked the story which Toei came up with and offered advice, and in the GT Dragon Box intro says that "for GT, all I did was just come up with the title, design the initial main cast and some of the machines, and also do a few images."

My bad.

Either way, you could make a guide about Toriyama involvement with Dragon Ball Online, and also about how Toriyama has been involved with video games development (like Chrono Trigger), so that fans have more information about what they choose to be canon or not.

[TheGreatness25]

It's a video game. I find it really hard that a video game would be canon to a manga, just as hard as I'm accepting that GT (the anime) is canon to the manga also. It has a certain storyline, yes, but... it's still a video game. Different player, different experience. There is no set definitive story that one experiences, every player's experience is different.

I know it "ignores GT," but what exactly does it ignore? I mean it takes so far after GT, that it's not like they stand there going, "Okay well the last fight we had was Majin Boo and the Dragon Balls didn't become evil." There is nothing in DBO that really can't have GT fit in between the end of Z and DBO to tell the truth. Only thing possibly that could contradict is if Piccolo is alive and Goku is around... but again, it takes place so far in the future that anything could have happened during that time. So when someone goes around and says, "It completely ignores GT!!!!!!!!!" I say... how? Either that, or I'm thinking that it's a continuation of the manga, whereas GT would be a continuation of the anime... which would be like saying that DBO does not acknowledge the fact that Yamucha, Tenshinhan, and Chaozu were stronger than the Ginyu Special Force on Kaio's planet for example, while GT does.

[Herms]

I know it "ignores GT," but what exactly does it ignore? I mean it takes so far after GT, that it's not like they stand there going, "Okay well the last fight we had was Majin Boo and the Dragon Balls didn't become evil." There is nothing in DBO that really can't have GT fit in between the end of Z and DBO to tell the truth.

A major part of DBO's backstory is that Mister Boo gave birth to an entire race of majins and eventually died of natural causes, while in GT he merges with Oob instead.

[TheGreatness25]

A major part of DBO's backstory is that Mister Boo gave birth to an entire race of majins and eventually died of natural causes, while in GT he merges with Oob instead.

That's the big "it ignores GT" part? They could have diffused. Oh stranger things have happened than a diffuse. Piccolo and Kami split apart, Vegetto was split apart. I mean if that is what the entire theory that GT was ignored rests on, then it is really shaky ground. Besides... what absolutely retarded story this is. "So yeah, every race of character in the series just kept reproducing until the world was populated by a bunch of Saiyans, Boos, Namekians, and whatnot." This is probably one of the things I think is absolute garbage in the game and refuse to take it seriously. Just the thought of Boo sitting there giving birth to an entire population (as well as Piccolo or Dende doing that I guess) comes off as stupid. Besides, again, a lot of time has passed, a lot of stuff could have happened. For example, let's look at ways it kind of might ignore Z. Does Pan exist in that world? She did in Z. Does Oob exist in that world? He did in Z. I just think that if you're going to go by the notion that it ignores GT, if you think about it, the only things I know that it acknowledges from even the manga is that there were Saiyans, Namekians, and Boo, Goku, Trunks, and so on existed.

[Eddie]

Piccolo is also still around in DBO. DBO and GT can't coexist in the same continuity at all. I also don't understand how a video game simply can't be canon to a manga. I don't particularly care if DBO is canon or not, so don't take this as "DBO is canon. It has to be." It's worth noting, though, that there are plenty of examples of franchises that start in one medium and continue in another. Final Fantasy VII, for example. It was a video game first, but the story continued in a series of canon short stories and a movie.

[Herms]

That's the big "it ignores GT" part? They could have diffused. Oh stranger things have happened than a diffuse. Piccolo and Kami split apart, Vegetto was split apart. I mean if that is what the entire theory that GT was ignored rests on, then it is really shaky ground.

Well, there's other stuff too, but that's the major one that springs to mind. The game has a fairly detailed time line explaining its backstory, and nothing from GT is ever mentiond. So yes, the game ignores GT. That doesn't mean the game goes out of its way to specify that it doesn't go off of GT, or that it's absolutely impossible to reconcile its backstory with GT through excessive fanwankery. But the game itself makes no attempts to tie into GT.

The reason being that the game is explicitly based off of the manga rather than the anime. The game makers have said that they only got the license for the manga when making the game, and only Shueisha is credited and not Toei. One notable result of this is that Namekians and Piccolo's spawn only have 4 fingers in the game (as they do in the manga but not the anime), and some characters like Karin have a different color scheme than they do in the anime.

[TheGreatness25]

I'm actually all for continuity from the manga because I'm a fan of the manga probably more than the anime at this point. But I don't know, a lot of people seem to be going off on this huge, "it ignores GT!" thing and all I'm saying is... is it really hard to try to tie in GT? Sure, it doesn't mention anything from GT but... besides the characters' existence, does it mention anything from Dragon Ball or Dragon Ball Z? My thing is that GT had no real new characters introduced throughout the series (so the lack of those characters in DBO is no indication) and nothing really irreversible happened in GT that DBO negates (Piccolo for all intents and purposes could have been wished back with the Dragon Balls, etc.). I'm just saying.

But yeah I think it's pretty obvious that it ignores GT, but it's more because it follows the manga, not just to blow up GT. I'm not a huge GT fan, but I choose to accept its existence. Lord knows I spent enough money and time watching that crap so I don't want it to really disappear, not that it ever would. The hype for GT in the US (before people even really knew what it was) was insane and I kind of like the notion of GT still existing even if it can't compare to the original by miles. The two things I like besides the characters and story and whatnot, is Vegeta's hair (I do like it even though a lot don't), and how urban it was and that the fights took place in cities instead of abandoned grassy fields like usual. But wait, I believe I spun off topic. Sorry guys.

[Eddie]

I'm actually all for continuity from the manga because I'm a fan of the manga probably more than the anime at this point. But I don't know, a lot of people seem to be going off on this huge, "it ignores GT!" thing and all I'm saying is... is it really hard to try to tie in GT? Sure, it doesn't mention anything from GT but... besides the characters' existence, does it mention anything from Dragon Ball or Dragon Ball Z? My thing is that GT had no real new characters introduced throughout the series (so the lack of those characters in DBO is no indication) and nothing really irreversible happened in GT that DBO negates (Piccolo for all intents and purposes could have been wished back with the Dragon Balls, etc.). I'm just saying.

First I'll address the idea that DBO does not mention anything from Dragon Ball. This is factually incorrect. Part of the game involves time travel. You interact with many characters from the original series, such as Grandpa Gohan, Bardock, and Commander Red. You also visit many specific locations, including the village Namu was from. Freeza's death also plays an important role in the game, as remnants of his army actually tried to attack Earth.

As for the idea that nothing irreversible happens in GT that DBO negates, that is also factually incorrect. According to DBO, Goku and Vegeta eventually left Earth to go have one final battle. They weren't seen again. This simply cannot fit with the ending of GT.

[TheGreatness25]

As for the idea that nothing irreversible happens in GT that DBO negates, that is also factually incorrect. According to DBO, Goku and Vegeta eventually left Earth to go have one final battle. They weren't seen again. This simply cannot fit with the ending of GT.

Unless Goku came back later on and they both disappeared. Hm. The game sounds interesting, but damn I do not want to sit there dedicating any more time to it than necessary. I kind of just want to be able to play through the storyline and be done with it instead of running around, leveling up, and all that stuff (if it has that). Again, it's not like DBO is around form e to get my hands on really so I can't really say 100%.

[Cipher]

It seems the most anyone can say about Dragon Ball Online is that the manga is canon to it, but it is not necessarily canon to the manga.

That is, the events of the manga indisputably happened in the universe of DBO, but the universe of the manga does not necessarily lead to DBO.

To be honest, I have a hard time imagining Toriyama sitting around thinking, "Yes, my manga definitely leads into this game." I think it's far more likely they tossed him a paycheck, he came up with ideas that fit what they needed for the game (a race of Majins, ki-using humans, etc) and didn't concern himself much with it afterward. I think it would be fairly reasonable, if Toriyama for whatever reason wrote an actual continuation in manga form, to expect it to contradict DBO.

As for the whole "ignores GT" thing, I've never understood it. I think GT cements itself pretty firmly as a sequel only to the anime when it starts referencing Tsufuru-jin, Sacred Water and the like.

[kaialone]

As for the whole "ignores GT" thing, I've never understood it. I think GT cements itself pretty firmly as a sequel only to the anime when it starts referencing Tsufuru-jin, Sacred Water and the like.

Or the cameos of dead movie villains in the Super 17 saga

[Akumaito Beam]

Herms, I think you should go ahead write that summery of things Toriyama didn't say...

I unironically think this is a great idea. Your own Toriyama rumors guide.

[Michelle91]

Toriyama probably don't even know the word "canon".

Agreed. I don't think DBO is viewed canon to the manga at all seeing AT had nothing to do with it and is more of a alternate sequel just like "Dracula the Un-dead" was to Bram Stoker's Dracula novel.